


Losing a Spleen Isn't All Bad

by nyx (astrynyx)



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Honestly these two dorks, Kidnapped Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Maribat Drabble Exchange, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tim Drake's Missing Spleen, Tired Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Tired Tim Drake, coffee lovers, honestly the league is so stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrynyx/pseuds/nyx
Summary: Tim and Marinette meet in the desert. In the end, Tim decides that losing his spleen isn't theworstthing.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Tim Drake/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 250





	Losing a Spleen Isn't All Bad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blondie4404](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blondie4404/gifts).



> My gift to Blondie for the Maribat Drabble Exchange. Hope you like it!!

“This is just great,” Marinette grumbled, trudging through the hidden assassin base. “Absolutely fabulous. _Exactly_ how I wanted to spend my Saturday. Sneaking through a cave from a _freaking assassin base_ because they decided to kidnap me for the Miraculous.” Plagg cackled.

“I don’t know what you mean, Bug. This is the _best_ way to spend a Saturday!” Marinette shot him a deadpan look.

“Don’t even, Plagg.” Plagg laughed harder, almost falling out of the air. Marinette smirked. “Serves you right.”

Before Plagg could tease her any more, they came upon the end of the hallway. Signaling for Plagg to _be quiet_ , Marinette inched closer, straining her ears to hear the echoing words. She didn’t understand what they were talking about, something about a “hero” getting ambushed in the desert, a missing spleen, and . . . spiders? Sharing a look with Plagg, Marinette listened as multiple footsteps retreated. She called for Trixx and cast an illusion over herself.

Marinette peeked past the hallway wall and saw the hero laying down on a stone slab, muttering to himself. Taking a step closer, she was able to make out his words.

“Man, this is just great, just _fucking_ fabulous. Fucking League of Assassins and their enemies wanting me dead. I don’t even _like_ any of these assholes, but _of course_ I’m the one stuck with this stupid mission where I lose my _fucking_ spleen. Thanks a lot, B.” Unable to hold back her giggle, Marinette gave away her position. Tensing, the hero spun around, falling into a combat position despite his obvious injuries.

Marinette could at least appreciate his form.

“Who’s there?” he demanded in English, eyes roaming around the cavern only to come up empty. Marinette stayed silent, trusting Trixx’s magic to keep her hidden. “I know you’re there. Come out.” Marinette stayed silent a moment longer before dropping the illusion and stepping out, trusting her intuition. Making sure Trixx and Plagg were hidden, she spoke.

“You’re not one of the assassins, are you?” The hero, which Marinette identified as male, immediately spun towards her, fists raised. He studied her critically.

“No,” he stated, avoiding looking into her eyes, instead studying her body language. “Neither are you.” Marinette shook her head. 

“No, I’m not. They kidnapped me. I was escaping when I ran into you.” Now, the male looks at her skeptically.

“Then why did you stop? You could have easily gone past me and been free.” Marinette hesitated, wondering the same thing herself.

“I’m . . . not really sure. I just had a gut feeling, you know? I’ve learned by now that it’s better to trust it than not.” He nodded, scanning her for any sign of dishonesty when he suddenly stepped back, staring at something on her stomach. 

“You’re . . .” he trailed off, eyes wide, leaving Marinette confused.

“What?” She glanced down towards where he was looking, seeing her soulmark exposed through a cut in her shirt. She immediately twisted her shirt in a futile attempt to hide the tattoo. “What about it?” 

Still unable to speak, he silently moved the bandage around his waist to the side, exposing his soul tattoo.

A soul tattoo that matches hers.

“My soulmate . . .” Marinette whispers, staring at the tattoo in awe. She was now even more glad that she decided to learn English. “I—”

“SHE’S GONE!” Both Marinette and her soulmate tense, sharing a look. “THE GRAND GUARDIAN HAS ESCAPED!”

“That’s _my_ cue to leave,” Marinette said, scanning the room for an exit. 

“Wait, why did they kidnap you?” he asked, pulling her one way. “Also, I’m pretty sure the exit’s this way.” Marinette skeptically glanced at him, but at the kwami’s insistence (as shown by their tapping), she decided to trust him.

“I’ll tell you _that_ another time. Right now, we need to _leave_.” Her soulmate nodded, glancing back at her.

“By the way, my name’s Tim. Tim Drake.” Marinette smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Tim Drake. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Are you telling me that you seriously jumped into a T-Rex’s mouth?” Tim exclaimed, looking at her incredulously. The kwamis giggle as Marinette huffs, crossing her arms and looking away from her soulmate.

“It was a perfectly safe plan! _You_ blackmailed Batman into becoming his sidekick!” Tim sputtered.

“Hey! He needed a Robin!” Marinette giggled, and Tim soon joined in. The laughter stopped, however, when Tim winced, holding his stomach.

“How’re you doing?” He shrugged. 

“About as well as I can be considering I had an impromptu surgery in the middle of the desert.” Marinette winced.

“Yeah . . .” Marinette looked down. Tim noticed, immediately bumping his shoulder against hers.

“Hey, it’s not all bad. I mean, without that impromptu desert surgery I may not have met you for a long time.” He winked and gave her his biggest smile. She smiled back.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” She smiled before looking around. “Come on, we need to find shelter.” However, before she could step forward, Tim interrupts her.

“Hey, bean?”

“Yeah?”

“Didn’t you say you had a Miraculous that can teleport?” Marinette paused, eyes widening.

“I’m so dumb. Literally the dumbest person to ever walk the planet. I’ve reached a new level of stupid.” Tim poked her in the side.

“Hey, no you’re not. Don’t you have, like twenty of them with all different abilities?” Marinette nodded. “And you were just kidnapped and met your soulmate. It’s perfectly reasonable to have forgotten. You remembered now, so let’s get out of here.” Marinette smiled.

“Where should we go?” Tim tilted his head before smirking evilly.

“How would you like to meet my family?”

Stepping out of the portal and into the Batcave, Tim took a long sip of his iced coffee, ignoring the incredulous stares of his family. Instead, he turned back to the portal and held out his hand, smiling as Marinette took it. 

"Uh, whatcha got there, Red?" Jason asked, staring from his brother to the girl with his. Staring into Jason's eyes, Tim took another long sip of his coffee.

"Iced coffee." As they all stared at her soulmate, Marinette took a sip of her own iced coffee, eyes going from one person to the next like a tennis match. Tim stared defiantly at his family, still drinking his coffee.

"Red Robin," Batman sighed, rubbing a hand down his face, "who is this?" Marinette smiled.

"This is Ladybug, I met her in the desert." Everyone once again stared.

"Father, I think the lack of sleep finally corroded his brain," Robin declared, glaring at the teens. They both stared at him and, in perfect sync, sipped their coffees. Batman let out another long-suffering sigh.

"And why did you bring her to the Cave?" Tim shrugged.

"She's my soulmate. And she knows, like, my whole life story." The entire room was silent. "Plus, she was kidnapped by the League of Assassins because she's the guardian of a bunch of tiny gods."

Once again, Jason was the one to break the silence.

"What, and I cannot stress this enough, the actual _fu_ —"


End file.
